1. 14 The Docklands & East London Advertiser, Thursday May 17, 2012
Sounds of
23 tonnes of
heavy metal
music peals It’s a Fact
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry makes about 700 hand bells a week.
In the 1950s and early 60s the company had a three-year waiting list
for musical handbells.
Today the company can deliver handbells in 10 weeks.
Thirty per cent of its tower bells are exported, mostly to the
Commonwealth.
Self-guided tours of the factory during the Olympics cost £10 a head
and £25 for a family.
Tickets can be bought on the door or in advance by calling 020 7375
1979.
Alan and Kathryn Hughes hope their daughters will continue running the company
The Elizabeth Bell for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
by Else Kvist
else.kvist@archant.co.uk
»Britain’s oldest manufacturing
company is among a shrinking
number of bell foundries to
have survived as the demand for
church tower bells has declined.
But this year workers at
Whitechapel Bell Foundry are be-
ing kept busy after landing two
major contracts for bells for both
the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and
the Olympics.
Established in 1570, during the
reign of the first Queen Elizabeth,
the company can lay claim to some
of the world’s most famous bells
such as 13.5-ton Big Ben, the larg-
est bell they ever cast, and the Lib-
erty Bell, the symbol of American
independence.
The bell the company has de-
signed for the Games’ opening cer-
emony, being overseen by movie
director and Mile End resident
Danny Boyle, is, at 23 tonnes, the
world’s largest harmonically-
tuned bell and the heaviest in Eu-
rope.
It is so large that Alan Hughes,
who manages the firm with wife
Kathryn, doesn’t think it will fit
throughthedoorsoftheWhitechap-
el Road factory. It is being cast in
Holland.
But the couple said they are cast-
ing the hammer, which will make
the bell ring “at the start of the cer-
emony to welcome the world to
London”.
Furnaces
Alan is the fourth generation of
his family to run the firm after his
great-grandfather took over in
1904.
Kathryn came to work at the
foundry while studying music,
which is how the couple met and
married.
Together they have kept the com-
pany going as hundreds of others
have folded as the demand for tow-
er and music bells declined.
Standingamongfurnaces,lathes
and gigantic pulleys on the factory
floor, Alan said: “The medieval
recipe for bells is still the same.
You have to create a void, the void
has to be the exact shape and size,
and you then pour liquid metal
into the void.
“Making the pattern is just like
being at the seaside with a bucket
and spade. What you have got is
compressed sand moulded around
a pattern.”
But it’s a skill which takes years
to perfect, Alan explained. Howev-
er, with other companies folding,
the couple have no problems re-
cruiting staff.
Kathryn said: “Demand for bells
is lower than ever and the trouble
with bells is that they last for hun-
dreds of years. But this year is a bit
of an artificial peak because of the
Jubilee.
“Bells are often used for celebra-
tion; it’s a great way of marking
something. We made a lot of bells
for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Ju-
bilee.
“I think there are times when
our history helps us get the jobs.
“This year, with the Olympics,
we have two very valuable ones.
But the turnover is the same be-
cause we can’t do anything else
while working on these jobs. In
other years we might do 20 smaller
jobs in the same time.”
The couple are under strict in-
structions to keep the details of the
Olympic bell secret and said they
haven’t yet been told where in the
Olympic Park it will be located.
Kathryn said: “We understand
the idea is for the bell to start the
whole thing off to welcome the
world to London, which is quite an
honour. But the truth is we don’t
know. It’s a massive bell that’s all I
can say, even the hammer is mas-
sive.
“Danny Boyle was one of the
first people who came here and
said ‘this is what I want’.
“He’s a nice chap and his enthu-
siasm for bells and the Olympic
bell has been quite pronounced.
“The opening ceremony is the
start of the show and across the
world the success of the Olympics
are judged on that moment so it’s
fantastic for us to be part of that.”
The company is opening its
doors for self-guided tours during
the Games.
During the two weeks of the
Games, half of the 23 staff, which
The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee has kept the firm busy

2. Thursday May 17, 2012, The Docklands & East London Advertiser 15
It’s a Fact
The company has cast
eight bells for the Queen’s
Diamond Jubilee River
Pageant.
The bells have all been
named after senior royals.
At about half a tonne, the
Elizabeth Bell is the biggest.
The bells will be hung
from a scaffolding tower on
the Belfry Barge leading a
flotilla along the Thames on
Sunday, June 3.
The flotilla will makes its
way from Battersea Bridge
to Tower Bridge.
Budd Stannard compressing sand for the bell-moulding process
include moulders, general engi-
neers, blacksmiths, bell turners
and bell hangers, will each get a
week off to avoid travel and de-
livery problems.
Instead production will be cut
back to allow visitors into the
workshop.
Kathryn said: “We are cov-
ered for whoever turns up. It’s
self-regulated because the queue
will just get longer if people take
longer to get round.
“Hopefully local people who
wouldn’t normally come, and
people from all over the world,
will come. Our Saturday tours
are fully booked for the rest of
the year so it’s the only chance
to see our workshop this year.”
The couple have two daugh-
ters who both study at the Royal
College of Music and who live in
a flat upstairs from the foundry.
Kathryn said: “They have a
very real interest and are very
proud of the company.
“They will inherit it and it
will be up to them what they do
with it.”
SHAKESPEARE
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LIVE MUSIC
Friday 18th May
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&
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460 Bethnal Green Road
London E2 0EA